26 January 2018

As anti-extremism chief, I hear my critics – but I’ll listen to victims too

.... Working on this issue for more than a decade, I have heard first-hand testimony from young people, who shared with me how extremism drew them into a life of violence and hate, robbing them of a promising career and future. Mothers have told me heartbreaking stories of how extremism ripped their families apart.

When extremism thrives, fear and suspicion breeds between and within communities, undermining cohesion and prosperity. The harmful consequences do not end there. The rights of women are undermined, as are the rights of minority groups in our society. We have seen a rise in antisemitism and anti-Muslim bigotry but also hatred and threats towards members of the LGBTQ community. And of course, terrorism is often carried out by those driven by an extremist ideology. [495 comments]

[TOP RATED COMMENT 249 votes] I'm afraid that is the standard politically correct paint by numbers approach which pretends far right terrorism is an equal threat to Islamist terrorism. One look at the statistics shows this is not true. Be honest for once and target the problem.

[2ND 168] If both Naz Shah and Sayeeda Warsi are prepared to go on Radio 4 at the same time to denigrate this lady, she must presumably be getting something right.

[3RD 137] If you're going to tackle the elephant in the room, all well and good. But if you take the Hope not Hate approach, then a good deal of the country is going to despise you and see this as a continuation of cultural marxism.

[4TH 132] "My first act will be to carry out a comprehensive study of the scale, influence and reach of extremism in Britain "

Er, the Security Services have been investigating this for well over a decade, we've had Prevent and all sorts of other initiatives.

Surely there is some idea of the extent already available?

[5TH 132] More than a few Jihadists, apparently:

"UP TO 23,000 potential jihadis are reportedly living in Britain as police investigate the sprawling terror network linked to Manchester bomber Salman Abedi"

[6TH 126] I think we know the issues, sadly I think it is a few decades too late but wish you well. [Guardian Cif] Read more